With the World Economic Forum underway and President Trump about to join his economic team there, ABC made sure to slather on the partisan rhetoric and do everything possible to shape perceptions on the administration’s economic success. This includes a particularly nasty item from Mary Bruce on World News Tonight.
Watch the aforementioned report in its entirety, as aired on ABC World News Tonight on Tuesday, January 20th, 2026:
DAVID MUIR: Now to President Trump's plan to take Greenland, President Trump saying, quote: “there is no going back.” The stock market plunging 870 points today over the president’s insistence that he will take Greenland and will impose tariffs against NATO allies who don't support him. The president later today asked “how far you are you willing to go on this?" He said: "you'll find out.” Mary Bruce at The White House.
MARY BRUCE: Tonight, as Wall Street plunges under President Trump's threat to impose new tariffs on NATO allies, the president doubling down on his quest to own Greenland. Declaring, quote: “there can be no going back.”
REPORTER: How far are you willing to go to acquire Greenland?
DONALD TRUMP: You'll find out.
BRUCE: America’s NATO allies, beyond frustrated. Trump releasing a text from French President Emmanuel Macron, who told him “I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland.” Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Macron with this veiled shot.
EMMANUEL MACRON: We need more stability in this world. But we do prefer respect to bullies.
BRUCE: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke of a rupture in the world order.
MARK CARNEY: Let me be direct. We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.
BRUCE: President Trump, who is heading to Davos tonight, downplaying tensions with Macron and other leaders.
TRUMP: I think I get along very well with them. I mean, they always treat me well. They get a little bit rough when they’re- you know, when I'm not around. But when I'm around they treat me very nicely.
BRUCE: But in Europe, the anger is palpable. Thousands taking to the streets of Copenhagen, wearing Trump’s signature red hats, these saying: “Make America Go Away.”
Greenlanders have made it clear they don’t want to be part of the U.S. What gives the U.S. the right to take away that self-determination?
TRUMP: Well, I haven’t- I haven’t- I haven’t spoken to them. If I speak to them, I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.
BRUCE: Trump insisting there’s a deal to be made.
TRUMP: I think that we will work something out where NATO’s going to be very happy. And where we’re going to be very happy.
BRUCE: The president speaking today for an hour and 45 minutes in that a rambling press conference marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration, listing off his accomplishments. But the president also keenly aware of the polls. New CNN data shows a majority of Americans think Trump’s first year is a failure, and that he hasn’t gone far enough to reduce prices. But Trump insists he’s turned things around. David.
MUIR: Mary Bruce at The White House today. Mary, thank you.
David Muir’s introduction was only slightly less overwrought than normal, making reference to a stock market drop fueled by hysteria over what President Trump might do to annex Greenland. Muir then tosses to Mary Bruce, who appears to be approaching midterm form and is already sharply echoing partisan narrative.
Bruce then proceeds to repeat Muir’s points on the stock market, even going so far to use the same opinionated “plunged” descriptor of the markets. Bruce then proceeds to bemoan Trump’s play for Greenland, bolstering her argument by citing two foreign leaders.
In the case of French President Emmanuel Macron, Bruce used a “standing up to bullies” line. She left out the part about the Chinese needing to come in and invest more directly in Europe. Bruce then used the “rupture” quote from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Here again, no mention of Carney’s recent visit to China, where he declared the New World Order,
Mentioning those things might bolster Trump’s claim to Greenland, thus they were omitted from the newscast and report. The report then switches to protests in Europe and to the people weathering red “Make America Go Away” hat.
The report closes out on with another rant from Mary Bruce, wherein she cites a poll in order to call Trump “ a failure.” Four years ago Joe Biden would have been hailed for similar numbers to these- but things are now (D)ifferent.
